


Too Close

by ElevenGaleStorms



Category: Assassin's Creed - All Media Types
Genre: Apple of Eden, Assassin's Creed: Rogue, F/M, Friendship, Romance, Time Travel
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-21
Updated: 2017-08-22
Packaged: 2018-12-05 05:21:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,031
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11571192
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ElevenGaleStorms/pseuds/ElevenGaleStorms
Summary: Everyone has that wish to change the past. Arno Dorian happens to be the lucky person to have that one special chance. She along with her mentors travel back in time to prevent the downfall of the Brotherhood by Shay Cormac. All Arno had to do was kill the man. If only things were quite that simple...





	1. First things first

Time. Something people merely accepted as an unchangeable force that invaded every being. And then they found the tools of humanity’s gods.

Those tools were too much for humans to bear.

As power could corrupt even the best of men.

Thus, when Arno was approached with the chance to change things, she turned it down. Still, her mentors talked to her, most likely by the encouragement of the council, and Arno reluctantly agreed with the eagerness of a newly initiated Apprentice.

She, along with her mentors would travel back in time and prevent the downfall of the Brotherhood.

Everyone had their own mission and her’s was to assassinate Shay Cormac, feared Assassin Hunter and traitor to the Creed.

And as she, the only one to withstand the corrupting effects of the Apple found in Franciade, held the golden orb in her hands, she wondered what the future would be like when she returned.

Gabriel rested a comforting hand on her shoulder and Arno's nervous tremors stopped momentarily.

She could do this.

“Take us back.” The desired date rang loud yet unspoken in her mind. The Apple pulsed in response. A brilliant golden light enveloped the group of Assassins.

And then Arno opened her eyes to clear American skies.

She shakily stood up from the disorienting experience of traveling back in time. Her comrades mimicked her movement as well and Gabriel asked for their status.

They all replied with the Assassin sign for ‘okay’. Nausea combined with speaking could lead to some… unpleasant side effects to say the least.

It was only after she regained her bearings did Arno finally notice her surroundings.

They stood on the shore of what seemed to be the North Atlantic judging by the cold temperature. Arno breathed in the remarkable and refreshing scent of the ocean. Phillip scoffed at her awe for her surroundings.

She turned to glare at him. Arno didn’t get to travel a lot unlike some people.

“You know the plan?” It was more of a statement than a question. Still, everyone nodded at Gabriel in confirmation.

“Arno… don't mess this up.” In all honesty, that actually hurt. All the times she messed up before was because of unfortunate circumstances.

“Yes, Master Gabriel.” Arno used the word formal ‘Master’ as a slight way to show her offense at his statement.

Gabriel sighed and motioned for everyone to go their separate ways. Arno looks at the path before her.

Never before had she been this alone.

Arno took the first step onto the path she knew she set herself on.

* * *

“I was given no knowledge of an Apprentice coming to North America.”

“My visit here was on short-notice, Master Chevalier.” The French Assassin frowned but seemed mostly convinced.

“Then let me see your orders from the Council.” He demanded. She leisurely out a hand inside of her coat for the letter. All of his actions were expected and even his very order to look at her papers from the Council albeit in the future was planned for. Time travel was a tricky thingy hence the need for planning.

Her hand eventually found the letter and Arno handed it to her fellow Frenchman, “As you can see, I have authentication.”

The man suddenly glared at her, “Watch your attitude, Apprentice.”

With a sigh and a still suspicious look, Chevalier relented, “Very well. You may come aboard my ship.”

Just as she turned to go, the man said one last thing, “If I find out you are, not who you say you are then I will toss you overboard and leave you to drown.”

“Yes, Master Chevalier.”

Was it wrong to say that there would be no tears shed over him when he was gone?

* * *

Pacing excitedly, Arno stood on the deck of Chevalier’s ship. The crew had saw land and the mission suddenly seems all the more real.

“Stop doing that. You look like an overgrown puppy.”

“And you look like a grumpy cat, Cheva’.” She teased. The nickname made him huff, but didn’t get much of a reaction. Arno managed to develop a shaky friendship and camaraderie with the man. Thus, the slightly less aggression towards her.

“Get ready, Apprentice.” Arno nodded at the man. It was time to go their separate ways. Her's with assassinating the one of the Brotherhood’s greatest enemies and his with getting killed by said person.

It was only half an hour later did the crew manage to get the ship secured to the dock. Arno excitedly jumped down directly with a rather smooth landing.

“Finally!” She breathed out. Arno straightened her clothes in an effort to make the rumpled outfit look presentable.

The crew and Chevalier soon joined her and set up camp. Arno decided to take the time to sharpen her Guillotine Gun. Now should be the time that Shay should appear.

Right on time, Shay Cormac and Liam O’brian appeared. They seemed to have raced to their location judging by their flushed faces and harsh breathing.

“You’re late and those English sea dogs already have taken the smugglers.” Chevalier snarled. Arno continued to give care for her precious weapon. It was best not to get involved... but still this was a good opportunity to gain trust from her target.

“Come on, Cheva. They can retake these smugglers and I’ll even go with them.” The French Assassin fumed for a few moments before relenting to the pleading look on her face.

“If you do not bring back the smugglers, then don’t return.” He coldly said. Arno nervously chuckled. Acting as a negotiation and mediator wasn’t exactly what she signed up for when taking this mission.

“Okay, gentlemen. Ready to have some fun?” Before she could take her first step into the American Wilderness, Shay stopped her with a sudden question.

“Who might you be, lass?”

“I am merely an Apprentice assigned to hunt down a traitor to the Creed.” A wordy answer it was. Still, it was better to clarify things ahead of time. The less questions asked the better it would be.

“A traitor?” Oh, the irony of Shay saying that.

“I am afraid that time is of the essence and those smugglers aren’t going to free themselves, Monsieur Cormac.” With that said, Arno continued on into the forest.

She vaguely heard the men follow behind her and talked, most likely about herself. She would need to be careful at this stage of the plan.

The darkness of the forest enveloped her and she went in with fierce eyes and a determined heart.

Arno would complete her mission, whatever the cost.


	2. I can't wait until the day when I'm finally rid of you

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And as a naval battle commenced between the enemy ships and the Morrigan, all Arno could think about was finding a baguette to eat or at least anything edible.
> 
> But preferably baguettes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: Possible out of character fem!Arno in this.

Regardless of her opinions about where her real talents lie, the battlefield was no stranger to Arno.

And neither was killing.

Her Guillotine Gun knocked the attacking soldier off his feet and sank into his soft stomach. The now blood stained blade dripped crimson liquid as it was lifted from the flesh and directed at the cluster of soldiers coming to her.

_BOOM!_

The thunderous sound of her weapon firing made her ears ring from the sound. The mortar had fired directly into the cluster of enemies and thus scattered bodies littered the clearing.

Some were moving, but a majority lay deathly still.

The Assassin casually walked to the groaning bodies and soon to be corpses. A few lazy stabs and impaling later, they were corpses and forever silenced.

“What exactly do they teach you in the French Brotherhood, lass?” Shay said as he walked to her, apparently eying the mutilated bodies around her. He had already finished killing the rest of the soldiers.

“How to kill,” Arno said frankly. Her hand still held the bloody Guillotine Gun in a firm grip. Gabriel had drilled into her head never to be away from your weapon.

For an Assassin, that would be a death sentence or a showing of inexplicable trust.

Shay seemed to know when a topic was unwelcome in a conversation as he merely nodded and moved towards a ship that was most likely the smugglers.

Arno followed him silently with wariness in her steps. She had seen the way he fought against the smugglers.

A prodigy, some might say he was.

Arno knew the correct word would be ‘threat,' knowing the path he would soon go on.

What a shame, considering the sheer potential he has.

The Frenchwoman watched idly from a distance as those poor British guards were getting slaughtered by her target. The movement to the left caught her eye as the other Assassins made their way onto the ship.

Together, they took care of the remaining enemies.

How touching, she thought.

Now, perhaps she was a little too bitter. But having to go to another time, be separated from Elise and those fresh, delicious baguettes from that bakery...ahem. Getting back on the point, Arno did not want to be here at all.

Although, it was a rather high duty to hunt down a traitor of the Creed and Arno... well she didn’t like traitors.

Period.

“I was saving those fellows for you,” Shay told his fellow Assassins.  
“Very thoughtful. Maybe you are not completely useless, Shay.” Oh? Her fellow French Assassin didn’t call the traitor ‘cabbage farmer'.

Well, that was surprising.

“Speaking of useless, those blockheads won’t be needing this vessel anymore.” Arno took this as a sign to board the ship. It would be a shame for her to have to hitch a ride instead of staying close to the target.

After another passive-aggressive conversing between Shay and Chevalier, Shay got the Morrigan’s sails up, and they were heading to Chevalier’s ship.

It was shocking to be on the ship that lived in every naval Assassin’s nightmares. She had terrorized the seas, especially in North America with a remarkable number of Assassin affiliated ships sunk by her.

Another tiresome and almost painful listening of Chevalier conversing with Shay about the ship’s name later, did they finally come within sight of Chevalier’s ship being attacked.

Well, this was interesting.

Shay had fired the front cannons at the gunboats in response to Chevalier’s nagging about his ship, which was somewhat understandable.

And as a naval battle commenced between the enemy ships and the Morrigan, all Arno could think about was finding a baguette to eat or at least anything edible.

But preferably baguettes.

A part of her was wondering why exactly she was thinking about delicious baguettes when a naval battle was happening around her.

“Sing hearty lads. Chevalier is pleased with us.” The accented voice of Shay interrupted her train of thought. Arno looked around to see the wreckage of the enemy ships and Chevalier’s ship still floating there.

The penetrating feeling of a glare directed towards her made her head lazily tilt to Chevalier.

The man was glaring at her, “Were you even paying attention, Apprentice?”

“Sorry, I lost you at the ‘save my ship’ part,” Arno remarked dryly.

Chevalier narrowed his eyes at her, “You did not act like this on my ship.”

 One thing the man didn't know about her was that Arno tended to be less polite around those she was familair with. Spending several months on a ship with Chevalier made him no stranger to her.

Chevalier venomously glared at her, which Arno merely smiled in amusement to.

Oh, how the familiar scowl on the Frenchman’s face reminded her of Bellec.

Perhaps, it was a good thing to two would never meet. Who knows what would happen when two such similar people collided...

“Brat. You’ll be the death of me one day...” he glowered at her with no real heat. Arno stared back at him with mischevious eyes and a smirk on her lips.

Oh, he had no idea.

His death wouldn't be by her hand. Although, the success of her mission affected whether the man was going to die. No, it would be by the crimson stained blade of his current comrade.

Shay Cormac.

* * *

Mission Status: Pending

Report: Infiltration is successful. Target is somewhat trained. He still has some yet to be honed skills. Target has recently acquired his ship, the Morrigan. Assassination opportunities have yet to be found. Further investigation is needed along with information.

Requests: Additional information, further orders, food preferably baguettes.

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Arno may be acting a bit (or a lot) out of character in this. I supposed I got carried away with writing her in this chapter. I suppose you could interpret the reason for her behavior as Elise having more influence on Arno or she just being immature to some extent (She hasn't spent much time in the Brotherhood so far and doesn't have a lot of experience with missions under her belt. I guess that shows the French Brotherhood either had a lot of confidence in Arno or were just that desperate to get rid of Shay.). 
> 
> Well, I hope you enjoyed this chapter and thanks for reading!


	3. Love me, hate me

“I hate you.” Arno scowled at the man before her. She could understand Chevalier’s sentiment about Shay. Even in the company of the Irishman for a few weeks made her on the brink of snapping.

“Why? I’m lovely.” It was times like this did Arno wish that one of her mentors actually did the assassinating and she the intel gathering. Gathering information was her specialty, after all.

“Yes, you make such delightful company, Shay.” The sarcasm dripped from her very words.

Shay seemed unfazed by her words and merely replied, “I’m starting to think that you are taking after Chevalier a little too much.”

Arno glared daggers at the man. If looks could kill, he would be dead on the floor already and her mission would be over. Unfortunately, that was not reality at the moment.

Arno took a breath to calm herself. She just had to wait until Lisbon and then she could go in for the kill…

And this damn mission of hers would be over.

“Let’s just go find that tavern, cabbage farmer.” She smirked in vindication at the look of irritation on Shay’s face. He never was quite fond of that nickname Chevalier gave him.

The increase in her companion’s pace had Arno know that her comment encouraged him to get to the tavern faster.

Good.

If she couldn’t stand his company while sober, Arno might as well try to cope by drinking wine.

Only a little bit, though. After all, she couldn’t afford to get drunk on a mission...especially when next to her target.

The pair of Assassins walked for several minutes before finally arriving at the tavern.

The Green Leprechaun.

Oh, the not-a-word look Shay gave her in warning was hilarious. He knew her well enough to assume correctly that she would make a remark about the tavern’s name.

In response, she merely snickered to herself.

Briefly, she wondered how she found delight in making fun of others. Only then did she realize that Greencoat was the only one of her mentors that had the same twisted hobby.

Like mentor, like student.

By the time Arno snapped out of her thoughts, Shay had already gone inside.

Time to head inside, then.

Arno gripped the handle of the tavern’s door and pulled.

The strong scent of alcohol and deadbeats greeted her nose, while the cheerful lively music of the tavern was… well, music to her ears.

Arno singled out Shay with him being the only man in the tavern with a hood on. The leers some of the drunkards gave to the barmaids made her glad on her decision to wear men’s clothes on the mission.

It was preferable to avoid drawing attention to herself.

As she pondered this, Shay drunkenly murmured, “Hey! Heh-You know who you wanting-” Having enough of this, Arno smacked his head lightly.

She honestly did not care what he did or who he did things with. But that murderous man in the corner certainly did.

And the said person just decked Shay.

The action didn’t bring a smile on Arno’s face. She never did like someone taking advantage of someone in their moment of weakness.

“Stop.” She redirected the next blow and casually twisted the man’s arm behind his back, “I’m warning you...”

The drunkard struggled to break free of her firm grip only to bark out a command, “Attack him!”

“And to think I wanted this to stay conflict-free.” Arno grinned in challenge as men surrounded her. Her Guillotine Gun was unsheathed and ready for action in two fluid motions.

Thug Number 1 rushed at her with his fists ready only to get beaten down by the flat of her blade, “I’m giving you one last warning. Anyone who attempts to attack me now will get killed.”

Stay your blade from the flesh of the innocent.

Technically, these people weren’t innocents, right?

Unsurpinsly, another henchman tried to assault her and this time she killed him with a quick shot to the head via pistol.

“Anyone else?” Her eyes roamed the room to see uncertain faces. Well, that’s good. Killing people who possibly shouldn’t have been killed is a way to screw up the timeline.

Something she would need to avoid at all costs.

Arno looked to her drunken companion sitting slouched on the chair, “Time to go, you idiot.”

The Frenchwoman supported Shay as he stumbled drunkenly. She glared at the remaining henchman, “If I see your faces ever again, I will slit your throats.”

Not that she would actually do that.

Tenants of the Creed, of course. But, hey, a little intimidation wouldn’t hurt as it could avoid future conflict.

With her free hand, Arno threw a handful of coins onto the table before slowly walking out of the tavern with Shay in tow.

* * *

The bed creaked in protest as Shay’s body was thrown on it. Arno huffed and scowled at her snoring target. She tugged off his boots and stripped him of his coat.

The woman pulled a chair next to the bed to sit on.

Why was she even doing this for him?

She could have easily just left him out in the streets and make some excuse for her absence at the time.

Deep in her heart, she knew what the answer was.

Shay, for all his faults and annoyances, was a good person. The times he helped those in need while Arno observed as a bystander remained crystal clear in her memory.

Still, that didn’t change the fact that she was going to assassinate him.

Arno had done many things in her life. Killing good people was no stranger to her.

Only then did Arno had an epiphany on what to do. It would ease her minute guilt and put her mind at ease.

She would respect Shay in her time with him. The man was a good person, for now. She might as well treat him with respect for he was a dead-man walking.

For nothing would save him from herself.

**Author's Note:**

> I think this turned out okay for something I typed on my tablet. If you don't mind me asking, do you have any advice for writing Shay? I'm a bit nervous about having him be out of character. Another thing I wanted to ask is which form of Shay x Fem!Arno is the most preferred. Is it the platonic relationship or romantic? I apologize if I am annoying with this. I'm just interested in what you guys think.
> 
> Anyway, since I've finally written the first chapter for this, I won't post many new works and will instead focus on the ones that are a work in progress. Well, thanks for reading and feel free to give constructive criticism!


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